One volunteer searching for people dying in the desert Tuesday sent this report of the Minutemen, who are out in full force in the areas of Green Valley and Arivaca.

"They park at Continental and the frontage road in Green Valley on a regular basis and yesterday they met in numbers in the parking lots of the Amado Mini Market, The Longhorn restaurant and the Cow Palace."

Already, some area businessmen have chased Minutemen off their property with shotguns.

A seminar expected to draw dozens of illegal immigration foes and perhaps hundreds of protesters to Crystal Lake on Saturday is in jeopardy after the hotel hosting the event told its sponsor it is no longer welcome.

The decision by the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn has left the Illinois Minuteman Project scrambling to find an alternate location to host Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff Dan Beck, whose efforts to deport people in the country unlawfully has earned him national attention.

“I’m disturbed by the whole thing,” Minuteman Director Rosanna Pulido said this morning. “We’re not bringing in a lunatic. We’re bringing in a sheriff.”

Pulido said her organization received an e-mail from Holiday Inn attorneys Tuesday afternoon announcing their decision to cancel her conference room reservation. The e-mail, Pulido said, indicated the decision was made after Crystal Lake police informed the hotel it would be asked to reimburse the city $3,000 or more for additional police protection.

Pulido said she does not blame the Holiday Inn for its decision, saying she understands its hesitancy about paying for added security. Instead, she blames Crystal Lake authorities for making the hotel responsible for those costs.

“I feel there’s been government interference,” she said.

However, Crystal Lake Police Chief David Linder said the city’s decision to pass along its costs is standard policy. The department has sought and received similar reimbursement for other events such as last year’s Gay Games rowing competition on Crystal Lake.

For safety reasons Linder said he could not disclose his department’s plans for Saturday’s event, but he confirmed that the Holiday Inn was told it could be asked to reimburse the city as much as $3,000.

Sara Robinson has worked as an editor or columnist for several national magazines, on beats as varied as sports, travel, and the Olympics; and has contributed to over 80 computer games for EA, Lucasfilm, Disney, and many other companies. A native of California's High Sierra, she spent 20 years in Silicon Valley before moving to Vancouver, BC in 2004. She currently is pursuing an MS in Futures Studies at the University of Houston. You can reach her at srobinson@enginesofmischief.com.